Events
1223
– Louis VIII becomes King of France upon
the death of his father, Philip II of France.
1769 – An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolà
establishes a base in California and sets
out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey,
California).
1771 – Foundation of the Mission San Antonio
de Padua in modern California by the Franciscan
friar Junípero Serra.
1789 – French Revolution: citizens of Paris
storm the Bastille.
1789 – Alexander Mackenzie finally completes
his journey to the mouth of the great river
he hoped would take him to the Pacific,
but which turns out to flow into the Arctic
Ocean. Later named after him, the Mackenzie
is the second-longest river system in North
America.
1790 – French Revolution: citizens of Paris
celebrate the constitutional monarchy and
national reconciliation in the Fête de la
Fédération.
1791 – The Priestley Riots drive Joseph
Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution,
out of Birmingham, England.
1798 – The Sedition Act becomes law in the
United States making it a federal crime
to write, publish, or utter false or malicious
statements about the United States government.
1853 – Opening of the first major US world's
fair, the Exhibition of the Industry of
All Nations in New York City.
1865 – First ascent of the Matterhorn by
Edward Whymper and party, four of whom die
on the descent.
1877 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
begins in Martinsburg, West Virginia, US,
when Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers
have their wages cut for the second time
in a year.
1881 – Billy the Kid is shot and killed
by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner.
1900 – Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance
capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.
1902 – The Campanile in St. Mark's Square,
Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.
1911 – Harry Atwood, an exhibition pilot
for the Wright Brothers lands his airplane
at the South Lawn of the White House. He
is later awarded a Gold medal from U.S.
President William Howard Taft for this feat.
1916 – Start of the Battle of Delville Wood
as an action within the Battle of the Somme,
which was to last until 3 September 1916.
1933 – Gleichschaltung: in Germany, all
political parties are outlawed except the
Nazi Party.
1943 – In Diamond, Missouri, the George
Washington Carver National Monument becomes
the first United States National Monument
in honor of an African American.
1948 – Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the
Italian Communist Party, is shot and wounded
near the Italian Parliament.
1950 – Korean War: North Korean troops initiate
the Battle of Taejon.
1957 – Rawya Ateya takes her seat in the
National Assembly of Egypt, thereby becoming
the first female parliamentarian in the
Arab world.
1958 – Iraqi Revolution: in Iraq the monarchy
is overthrown by popular forces led by Abdul
Karim Kassem, who becomes the nation's new
leader.
1960 – Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe
Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to
begin her famous study of chimpanzees in
the wild.
1965 – The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes
the first close-up photos of another planet.
1969 – Football War: after Honduras loses
a soccer match against El Salvador, riots
break out in Honduras against Salvadoran
migrant workers.
1969 – The United States $500, $1,000, $5,000
and $10,000 bills are officially withdrawn
from circulation.
1987 – Montreal, Canada, is hit by a series
of thunderstorms causing the Montreal Flood
of 1987.
1992 – 386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz
and William Jolitz beginning the Open Source
Operating System Revolution. Linus Torvalds
releases his Linux soon afterwards.
2000 – A powerful solar flare, later named
the Bastille Day event, causes a geomagnetic
storm on Earth.
2002 – French President Jacques Chirac escapes
an assassination attempt unscathed during
Bastille Day celebrations.
2003 – In an effort to discredit U.S. Ambassador
Joseph C. Wilson, who had written an article
critical of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Washington
Post columnist Robert Novak reveals that
Wilson's wife Valerie Plame is a CIA "operative".
Holidays
and observances
Bastille
Day (France and French dependencies)
Birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of
Sweden, an official flag day. (Sweden)
Christian Feast Day:
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (United States)
Camillus de Lellis (Roman Catholic Church,
except in the United States)
Francis Solanus
Idus of Leinster
Libert of Saint-Trond
Ulrich of Zell
July 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which the first day of Gentse
Feesten can fall, while July 20 is the latest;
celebrated on Saturday before July 21. (Ghent)
Republic Day (Iraq)
For details, contact Datacentre
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